'Bachelorette' defends fiancé in first public appearance since Instagram controversy

The Bachelorette finale has come and gone and with it a fair share of controversy centered on the man Becca chose to marry, Garrett Yrigoyan. He made headlines recently when it came to light, via the Twitter account of former Bachelorcontestant Ashley Spivey, that he liked anti-immigrant, transphobic, and misogynistic posts on Instagram. One of the posts Garrett liked claimed that Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg is a crisis actor. Garrett has since apologized, and in his and Becca’s first public appearance as a couple on the finale, Becca took the opportunity to address the controversy.

“The Instagram situation, I don’t condone that,” Becca said. “I know that he stands by his apology, and he feels so bad for everyone that he did offend, and … he didn’t mean it. But I just want to move forward, and to learn, and to grow, and to continue to educate ourselves.”

Though Becca and Garrett may disagree politically (the wallpaper on her Twitter page is Joe Biden), they didn’t let their differing views drive them apart. In fact, Becca said it forced them to have difficult conversations and actually brought them closer together.

“It’s a challenge that we had to overcome, and it’s been a hurdle, but we have pushed through, and we have talked about it,” Becca said.

Though Becca may have bought Garrett’s apology, fans? Not so much.

Garrett and Becca circling around that apology was exhausting to see. It’s so generic and you can tell at the end of the day she doesn’t give a damn that he believes in that disgusting stuff about the Parkland students and is racist/transphobic. pic.twitter.com/2UvMhs4nkK